Ω Όνοι και Χοίροι,
Ω μέλη της πλέμπας,
σας παραθέτω την επιστολή, ήντινα απέστειλε Αγγλίς τινα [εκ της κολυμβητικής δεξαμενής] προς τον πρωθυπουργόν του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου. Η επιστολή αναφέρεται εις το θέμα της επιστροφής των Μαρμάρων του Παρθενώνος.
Dear Mr Johnson,
The Parthenon Marbles
As a permanent resident of Greece for 13 years as well as a British citizen, I wanted to write to you concerning your statement in the Greek Newspaper Τε Νεα yesterday in which it was reported that you refused to return the Parthenon Marbles to their land of origin….Greece, and declared that they were acquired legally according to the laws of the time.
I know you are a scholar of Greek and that Pericles is one of your heroes and that you have visited Greece often and therefore I conclude that you have an affection and respect for Greece and its people. I am therefore at a loss as to how you can refuse the repeated request of Greece to return the marbles, more especially because it was, as you know, Pericles himself who commissioned Phidia, the sculptor of the marbles to fashion his great work. You also must be aware that the firman, which Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin produced in 1801 from the Sublime Porte, being the central government of the OTTOMAN EMPIRE, which ruled Greece at the time, is of questionable validity and has been and is openly disputed. It follows therefore that the marbles were in fact stolen from the GREEKS, whose long heritage of them remains and always will be indisputable.
You are also undoubtedly aware that Lord Elgin’s costly divorce resulted in enormous debts and partly in an effort to clear these, he sold the Parthenon Marbles to the British Government in 1816, who then passed them into the trusteeship of the British Museum. Consequently it follows that both the British Government and the British Museum were in receipt of stolen goods, something which goes against the grain of British “fair play” not to mention actually breaking the law.
Isn’t the real reason why the refusal to return the Parthenon Marbles because it might open “the floodgates” for all other overseas artefacts to be returned to their country of origin?
However, on this bicentennial anniversary of the Επανάσταση on 25th March this year, wouldn’t it be the ideal opportunity to return them?! HRH Prince Charles is set to attend the ceremony in Athens. What a coup it would be for His Royal Highness to announce the return of the Parthenon Marbles to the Greek people! They already have the modern Acropolis Museum to house them and a fleet of archaeologists to attend to their restoration. And at this time of hardship with the pandemic, it would constitute an opportunity for rejoicing. It would certainly go down in history and you would make 10.8 million Greeks so happy, not to mention the thousands of British citizens who have chosen to make Greece their home. It is the right thing to do and I am sure that you will rise to the occasion…. you have no legal excuse to refuse!
Yours sincerely,
συνεχισε στα παραβαρδαρια χοτελια
και κατεληξε να γευεται τους αμαρτωλους καρπους του ερωτα του
σε αποθηκη;
